A process and system for displaying large (more than 1 million voxels) volumetric 3D images gives substantially higher resolution than is achievable with prior art techniques. The process and system utilize a sequence of helical slices of a 3D data set to generate a series of 2D images on a reflective surface of a light modulator. The series of 2D images generated on the light modulator are projected into a volumetric 3D-space display using an illumination light source and projection optics. Voxels in 3D space are illuminated for each 2D projected image, each voxel being located at its corresponding spatial location such that the 3D image thus generated can be viewed from any angle in a walkaround fish-tank manner without utilizing any viewing aids.